MartialiaRochebrune & Mabile 1889

Martialia hyadesiRochebrune & Mabile 1889

Introduction

Martialia hyadesi was originally described from a single specimen in 1882 and redescribed in 1990 (Rodhouse and Yearman, 1990). By 1986, twenty thousand tons of M. hyadesi were taken as bycatch in the Illex argentinus fishery. M. hyadesi is a moderate-sized ommastrephid reaching a maximum size of at least 319 mm ML.

The specific name of M. hyadesi presumably reflects that of the ship's surgeon on Charcot's ship the POUQUOIS PAS whose name was Hyades and whose ability to cure mal de mer was revered.

Brief diagnosis:

tentacular club extending nearly to base of tentacle and not expanded.

well developed trabeculae associated with reduced protective membranes on arms and tentacles.

Characteristics

Arms

Arms with poorly developed protective membranes but large and prominent trabeculae.

Right arm IV hectocotylized; left arm IV slightly modified.

Distal third of right arm IV with small suckers on long stalks; on ventral side, trabeculae form rounded flaps; on dorsal side trabeculae without free ends (free ends of trabeculae gradually diminish in size over proximal two thirds of arm until trabeculae present only as rounded bases to suckers).

Suckers of distal third of left arm IV sometimes with elongated stalks.

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Figure. Oral view of arms IV of a male M. hyadesi showing the hectocotylized right arm and the dentition of one sucker. Hectocotylus = 105 mm. Drawings from Rodhouse and Yeatman (1990).

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Figure. Oral view of the hectocotylized right arm of M. hyadesi. Drawing from Roeleveld (1988) shows some differences with the previous drawing.

Tentacles

Tentacles much like enlarged arms; most of tentacle occupied by club.

Tentacular club not expanded (round in cross-section); not clearly differentiated into carpus, manus and dactylus.

Protective membrane poorly developed; trabeculae strongly developed.

Tentacular stalks with 3-5 free trabeculae proximal to first suckers on each margin.

Comments

Ecology

Beaks and soft parts from the regurgitations and gut contents of wandering (Diomedea exulans), grey-headed (Diomedea chrysostoma) and black-browed (Diomedea melanophris) albatross chicks from Bird Island, South Georgia, indicate that M. hyadesi is an important component of the cephalopod diet of these birds and that it is ecologically important in the sub-Antarctic waters of the south Atlantic (Rodhouse, 1990).

About This Page

Page: Tree of Life
MartialiaRochebrune & Mabile 1889. Martialia hyadesiRochebrune & Mabile 1889.
Authored by
Paul G. K. Rodhouse, Richard E. Young, and Michael Vecchione.
The TEXT of this page is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media
featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available
for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the
relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and
redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright
Policies.

Each ToL leaf page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of
a group of organisms representing a leaf at the tip of the Tree of Life. The
major distinction between a leaf and a branch of
the Tree of Life is that a leaf cannot generally be further
subdivided into subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.